Joker's Google Blog: Business Intelligence Monitor 211215

※ Antiviral drug Paxlovid stayed 89% effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in a final analysis of a key study in high-risk adults

• WSJ: Omicron Variant Accounts for 3% of U.S. Covid-19 Infections

※ CDC data shows higher concentration of Omicron cases in New York, New Jersey

• WSJ: Fed Meets for First Time Since Powell Signaled Policy Shift

• WSJ: Senate Approves Increase in Debt Ceiling

※ Planned $2.5 trillion increase in borrowing limit should push next standoff past the midterms

• WSJ: Omicron Will Slow Oil Demand Recovery but Not Destroy It, IEA Says

※ IEA: Oil Market Report - December 2021

• WSJ: Why Companies Are Hesitant to Invest, Even if Demand Is Soaring

• WSJ: How to Explain This Weird Job Market

• WSJ: Millennials Are Supercharging the Housing Market

• WSJ: United Arab Emirates Threatens to Pull Out of $23 Billion F-35, Drone Deal With U.S.

※ Gulf partner complained about security requirements aimed at guarding against Chinese espionage, officials say

• WSJ: Investors Should Care About the Logic Behind the ‘Powell Pivot’

• WSJ: Cash Glut in Eurozone Drives Dollar Demand

• WSJ: Apple Renews Mask Mandates in U.S. Stores as Covid-19 Surges

• WSJ: Toyota, in Reversal, Says It Will Shift More Rapidly to EVs

• WSJ: Toyota Keeps Its EV Options Open—Maybe Too Open

• NYT: What It Takes to Understand a Variant

• NYT: Omicron Is a Dress Rehearsal for the Next Pandemic

• NYT: Worried About Inflation? Here’s What That May Reveal About You.

• NYT: How Inflation Affects Turkey's Struggling Economy

• NYT: The Dream of U.S.-Made Computer Chips

• WP: Wealthy nations rush boosters to counter omicron as poorer nations await first doses

• WP: Omicron variant more resistant to vaccine but causes less severe covid, major South African study concludes

• WP: Russia vetoes U.N. Security Council resolution linking climate change and peace

• WP: Documents link Huawei to China’s surveillance programs

• FT: Why do Covid boosters offer greater protection against Omicron?

• FT: The return of inflation: crunch time for the European Central Bank

• FT: Surge in Omicron cases in Denmark and UK sends warning to rest of Europe

• FT: EU energy market proposals won’t fix current gas crisis

• FT: IMF tells Bank of England to raise interest rates

※ IMF: United Kingdom Staff Concluding Statement of the 2021 Article IV Mission

• FT: How did the UK reach 200,000 Omicron infections in one day?

• FT: UK prime minister fails with plea for Conservative loyalty

• FT: China and Russia threaten ‘free and open’ internet, UK warns

• FT: US chip material maker Entegris doubles Taiwan investment to $500m

• FT: Global shipping optimism looks overdone

• Bloomberg: Latest Surge in African Covid Cases Causes Fewer Deaths That Previous, WHO Says

• Bloomberg: WHO Warns Against Underestimating the Omicron Threat

• Bloomberg: South Africa’s Omicron Severity May Be Masked by Prior 72% Covid Infection Rate

• Bloomberg: House, Senate Near Agreement on Uyghur Bill Aimed at China

※ Legislation would restrict trade of goods made in Xinjiang

• Bloomberg: J&J Shot Loses Antibody Protection Against Omicron in Lab Study

• Bloomberg: 2021 Covid Pandemic American Consumer Spending Across Race and Income Revealed

• Bloomberg: Blinken Blasts China, Seeks to Rally U.S. Allies in Asia

• Bloomberg: Supply-Chain Hell Ignites Economic Boom Along U.S.-Mexico Border

• Bloomberg: ECB Forecasts Inflation Below 2% Target After Next Year

• Bloomberg: Omicron Divides Europe Over Plan to Simplify Travel Rules

• Bloomberg: French Economic Recovery Seen Cruising Through Election Season

• Bloomberg: U.K. Plans Giant Battery to Manage Surge in Offshore Wind

• Bloomberg: ADB Cuts Developing Asia GDP Outlook as New Variant Poses Risks

※ Developing Asia’s 2021 GDP growth forecast cut to 7% by ADB

※ ADB: Economic Forecasts: December 2021

• Bloomberg: PBOC Reiterates Prudent Housing Policy to Support Healthy Growth

• Bloomberg: China Rate-Cut Calls Gain Momentum as Top Economists Weigh In

• Bloomberg: Why Hidden Debt Is a Big Problem for China Developers: QuickTake

• Bloomberg: Argentina’s Central Bank Weighs Rate Hike Amid IMF Talks

• Bloomberg: Bank of Japan Tapers by Stealth First and Explains Later

• Bloomberg: Brazil’s Not-So-Bad Budget Is Starting to Win Over Investors

• Bloomberg: Iran Doubles Down on Access for Monitors as Nuclear Talks Teeter

• Bloomberg: Philippines’ Duterte Drops Candidacy for Senate Seat

• Bloomberg: Goldman Strategists Join JPMorgan in Bullish Call on China’s Stocks

• Bloomberg: Fed Policy Is Seen as the Main Risk for Equity Markets Next Year

• Bloomberg: European Gas Has Never Been Pricier Relative to U.S. Supplies

• Bloomberg: Gas Crunch Sends Europe’s Prices to Rare Premium Over Asia

• Bloomberg: Ford Targets Tesla as It Seeks to Build 600,000 EVs by 2024

• Bloomberg: Clean Energy Investments in Rich Nations Outpace Poorer Ones

• Bloomberg: HSBC Says It Will Phase Out Financing of Thermal Coal by 2040

• Reuters: Putin and Xi to discuss 'aggressive' talk from U.S. and NATO, Kremlin says

※ "The situation in international affairs, especially on the European continent, is very, very tense right now and requires discussion between allies,"

• Reuters: Vaccine effectiveness against severe COVID drops slightly, still 'significant protection'-WHO

• Reuters: Higher risk of heart complications from COVID-19 than vaccines -study

• Reuters: A year after first U.S. shots, pandemic hallmarks re-emerge

• Reuters: Biden: U.S. has ordered enough Pfizer anti-viral pills to treat 10 million Americans

• Reuters: Sen. Joe Manchin cheers move to create more uranium for advanced nuclear reactors

• Reuters: NATO rejects Russian accusations on missile deployment

• Reuters: Germany facing winter of stagflation as COVID, bottlenecks bite

• Reuters: Germany says Russia will face 'massive consequences' if it invades Ukraine

• Reuters: Russian gas exports to Europe via Yamal pipeline stable after Belarus' warning

• Reuters: Italy extends COVID-19 state of emergency, imposes swab for EU visitors

• Reuters: France reports 63,405 new COVID-19 cases, average new cases at new 2021 high

• Reuters: Gulf Arab summit calls for action, not words from Iran